A police watchdog is investigating the former chief constable of West Midlands Police (WMP) over the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending a Europa League fixture against Aston Villa.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced on Wednesday that Craig Guildford is being investigated alongside three WMP officers and a staff member for gross misconduct over the controversial ban last November.The Athletic were the first to report on October 16 last year that WMP requested that Maccabi supporters were prevented from buying tickets to the match on November 6, with the police force later clarifying the decision was “based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam”.Confirmation of Maccabi supporters not attending came later in the day and after WMP shared its request with the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) for the fixture, made up of representatives from bodies including WMP and Birmingham City Council.WMP deemed the match a “high risk fixture”, scoring 77 on the UKFPU (United Kingdom Football Policing Unit) matrix.Preventing Maccabi supporters from attending was controversial, with the UK government vowing to do “everything in our power” to overturn the ban. An official inquiry into the intelligence that led to the decision was later established.At a Home Affairs Committee meeting in December 2025, following the fixture, questions were put forward by a hearing panel to Guildford, who was still WMP chief constable at the time, serving assistant chief constable Mike O’Hara and the police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster. Lord John Mann, an independent advisor to the UK government on antisemitism, was also asked to provide a viewpoint.